Jho Low’s spokesman says he has been offered asylum

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Jho Low

KUALA LUMPUR: Low Taek Jho has been offered asylum abroad, his spokesman said yesterday, as reports surfaced he was in the Middle East.

The news came a day after US officials announced that he had struck a settlement to forfeit assets worth US$700 million, including a Beverly Hills hotel and a private jet, as part of efforts to recover stolen cash.

The jet-setting former unofficial adviser to 1Malaysia Development Berhad allegedly played a key role in plundering the sovereign wealth fund, in a fraud that also purportedly involved former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The whereabouts of Low, who has been charged over the scandal in the US and Malaysia, are a mystery but his representatives now say he has been offered asylum, without naming a country.

“We understand that Mr Low was offered asylum in August 2019 by a country that acts in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and European Convention on Human Rights,” a spokesperson for Low, through his attorneys, told AFP.

The spokesperson did not provide further details.

Online news portal The Malaysian Insight reported that Low was in the United Arab Emirates and had been travelling between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East since June, citing unidentified sources.

But Inspector General of Police Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador denied Low was in the UAE.

Abdul Hamid was quoted by national news agency Bernama as saying Malaysian police had a good relationship with authorities there, meaning it would be difficult for Low to enter the country.

“We are aware of Jho Low’s whereabouts but some people are protecting him. Just give me some time,” he said.

“I will not stop efforts in tracking down and bringing back this criminal.”

Police have previously said that they hoped to bring Low back home by the end of the year to stand trial.

Low, who has denied any wrongdoing, was previously reported to be in China.

Najib’s long-ruling government was booted from power last year in part due to the 1MDB scandal, and the ex-leader has been charged and put on trial.

After the announcement that Low would relinquish assets under the largest ever US civil forfeiture, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia would ask America to hand over what it has recovered from Low.

“We have proof that the is our money and will make a claim with the US government,” he was quoted as saying in The Star newspaper.  — AFP